History lives on in Cooperstown

Scott Roth and his father, Wayne, made a point to get a picture of Harmon Killebrew on Friday, even though it’s been more than three decades since the former slugger played baseball.

Just two days before what could be the biggest Hall of Fame crowd in history, time stands still in Cooperstown.

The Roths, who are Cubs fans, stopped outside a Main Street restaurant Friday where Killebrew signed autographs to see the Minnesota Twins Hall of Famer. For the Roths, the 71-year-old former first baseman still represents for the game – a time when guys played hard, before they were seduced by money, and when they were loyal to fans.

Scott Roth, wearing a blue Cubs jersey, was more than happy to pose for photo taken by his dad because of who the player was -- not what team he played for.

“He’s an icon, an old ball player,” Scott Roth said. “He played the game the right way. He was clean.”

Similar sentiments were offered by other fans in the village on Friday when talking about Cal Ripken Jr. and Tony Gwynn, who will be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame on Sunday afternoon. The ceremony will begin at 1:30 p.m. and will be held rain or shine outside the Clark Sports Center, regardless of threatening forecasts.

According to the National Weather Service in Binghamton, the forecast today in Cooperstown calls for afternoon showers and thunderstorms with a high near 78. The forecast for Sunday is partly cloudy with showers and a high near 80. In the event of severe weather, Sunday’s ceremony could be delayed or cancelled as a public event according to a statement issued by the Hall Friday afternoon.

A few showers on Friday did nothing to dampen spirits of fans, who came to celebrate Ripken and Gwynn -- players with the Baltimore Orioles and San Diego Padres, respectively, were more aligned with throwbacks like Killebrew than many of their own contemporaries. Killebrew, inducted in 1984, didn’t reap as many financial benefits from a three-team career that spanned 22 years. Killebrew started in 1954 with the Washington Senators and ended in 1975 with the Kansas City Royals. He made his name with the Twins from 1961-1974, though that is where the comparison with Ripken and Gwynn ends.

Ripken and Gwynn’s appeal to many of their fans was based on both men playing their entire careers with the same organization. Ripken played 21 years with Baltimore. Gwynn played 20 years with the Padres.

“(Cal) not only stayed with the Orioles, but he raised his family there and that was his home,” said Orioles fan Sue Pepper from Georgetown, Del. “In this day and time, I think that means something.”

San Diego resident and Padres fan Tony Orlando walked through the rain drops with his two sons, Tony II and Jamie. The trio’s trip was eight years in the making, ever since Gwynn got his 3,000th career hit in August 1999, and the Padres season ticket holders were determined to be at the player’s Hall of Fame induction.

Tony Orlando went to Gwynn’s final game. Tony II went to a baseball school when he was 12 in 1985 that was attended by Gwynn, and Jamie saw the player’s 2,000th-career hit.

Orioles fans feel the same way about Ripken. At one time, former third baseman Brooks Robinson arguably owned the fictitious crown as the fan favorite among Orioles players. But Ripken – best known for breaking Lou Gehrig’s record of consecutive games played – might have captured that honor from his fellow Hall of Famer. Ripken was raised in a Baltimore suburb -- and to Orioles fan Josh Brethauer, now living in Colorado Springs, Colo., the player symbolizes his home city’s blue-collar image.

“When you think of the Orioles, you think of Cal first,” Brethauer said.